Ex-Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag turned down chance to sign Abdukodir Khusanov | OneFootball

Manchester United were supposedly the first top club to show interest in Abdukodir Khusanov, who has now joined Manchester City.

United strengthened their backline ahead of the season by signing Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro. In particular, the Red Devils earned plenty of plaudits for winning the transfer race for Yoro.

The ex-Lille sensation was one of the most sought-after centre-backs in Europe last summer. The likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain all wanted to sign him after the Frenchman established himself as one of the best defenders in Ligue 1.

United eventually signed the 19-year-old, who has enjoyed a promising start to life in Manchester.

Khusanov has now become the latest defensive prodigy to leave France for Manchester, joining City from Lens in a deal worth €40m this month.

Interestingly, it has emerged that had the Red Devils acted more wisely, they could have secured Khusanov’s services as well.

According to the talented central defender’s agent, Gairat Khasbiullin, United were “the first to show interest” in his client.

In an interview with Championat (via Sport Witness), Khasbiullin revealed: “In May 2023, United scout Nicolas Chenalli was in Argentina for the U20 World Cup. After the second match of Uzbekistan at the tournament, he found my contact and wanted to meet.”

However, the then-United manager Erik ten Hag had different plans.

“The scout made a detailed report, but coach Ten Hag said that the defender was not quite ready to help the team at that time,” Khasbiullin added.

Apart from his underwhelming tactics, the Dutch coach also frustrated many fans with his transfer decisions, and not exploring the possibility of signing Khusanov is far from his worst recruitment move.

Ten Hag spent more than £120m on signing Casemiro and Antony and now both players aren’t part of Amorim’s first-team plans. The ex-Ajax winger is very close to joining Real Betis on loan and the veteran midfielder has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.

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